SPEF

Every year they sprout up in yards all over town like mushrooms: little orange and black signs with the cryptic letters of SPEF.

When I first moved here, I saw these signs and wondered what they meant, and why so many good people supported them. South Pasadena Exciting Friends? Silly Putty Exotic Fantasies? Some People Enjoying Fountains?

All good guesses, but no.

SPEF stands for the South Pasadena Educational Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charity designated by the South Pasadena Unified School District (SPUSD) as the official private fund-raising organization for the support of the district's educational programs. Donations to SPEF support all of the schools in South Pasadena, providing funds for academics, books, arts, technology, sports and much more.

'Tis the season for giving, and what better way to give than in support of our future?

Groundswell

The scenes of devastation in Haiti hardly seem real. As a resident of Southern California -- another tectonically unpredictable region -- this story hits too close to home. I can hardly process this kind of news. An entire city leveled by an earthquake in a matter of seconds? Thousands dead and dying beneath tons of rubble? How does anyone make sense of it? Like Katrina, like the 2004 Tsunami, like the 2009 Australian bushfires, the Haitian earthquake proves that nature is capriciously vicious. Even the rocks my daughter made shapes with on the sidewalk yesterday are the result of millions of years of chaotic, species-eradicating cataclysms.

I have a hard time making sense of random destruction. What happened in Haiti isn't the kind of everything-happens-for-a-reason plot point in a novel. It isn't a scene from a film by Roland Emmerich. It's not one of those scary bible stories told in Southern Baptist Sunday School. It's real and it's happening right now halfway across the world. It's happening as I sit in my comfy bed munching on Lays potato chips and wrestling with the same kind of existential questions that have plagued humankind since the first guy crawled out of a cave and wondered why he was able to get out when the other guy was eaten by a saber tooth tiger.

Grace doesn't always make sense. And sometimes karma seems to be rife with loopholes.

So, I count my blessings and ache for those who have lost so much. I also look for ways to make a difference. If you are looking too -- here are a few links to organizations that need our help:

Yele Haiti is Haitian-born Wyclef Jean's community service organization. You can make donations to the site -- if it's not down from too much traffic. (Keep trying.) You can also text YELE to 501501

Doctors Without Borders is asking for donations to assist their Haiti Earthquake Response team. The organization needs funds to dispatch additional emergency staff, including a surgical team and equipment to establish a 100-bed inflatable tent hospital with two operating rooms.

Oxfam needs help with setting up public health, sanitation and clean water services.

The American Red Cross is already out of medical supplies, affecting the organization's ability to assist critically injured patients in Haiti.

Mother nature may be able to destroy -- but her children are pretty good at helping to rebuild. In fact, that may be the only thing that makes sense to me at times like this. Feel free to add more links to reputable charities in comments.

Update: Increase the generosity! Jon reminded me that many employers -- especially larger companies -- will match your charitable contribution. Keep your receipts and be sure to ask your HR people about it.

Year End Oracle

It's the last day of the year, and that means more than just icing the champagne and tuning in to watch the Times Square ball drop...

It means there is still time to make a 2009 tax-deductible contribution to a worthy cause! Two of my favorite charities really need help:

Kiva
This group has made microfinance not only cool but socially conscious. Kiva connects people through lending for the sole purpose of alleviating poverty. Voted as a best website of 2008 by Time magazine, Kiva allows you to lend money to a low-income entrepreneur in the developing world. The loan recipient repays the money, and you get to lend it to someone else. We're not talking huge bucks, either ... you can loan as little as $25. Want to know more? Take a look at what the media is has to say about Kiva.

Donors Choose
Here's a great way to make up for all the times you cut class in high school. By giving to Donors Choose, you can help needy students get the materials public schools often cannot provide. Teachers from around the country submit project proposals -- everything from requests for classroom equipment to art supplies -- and you pick which projects to fund. You can search by areas of interest, financial need or geographic location. When you get the packet of handwritten thank you notes from an appreciative class, you'll feel like you've really made a difference in the world. Learn more about Donors Choose here.

Like the car above says, be heartful! Or maybe it says be love-ful? Oh, you get the idea.

School Supplies

South Pasadena schools are legendary in Southern California. Each year they are ranked among the best in the state. US News and World Report even rated South Pasadena High School as one of the best in the country.

We're fortunate to benefit from these outstanding public schools. Innovative teachers, a diverse student population and a vibrant, involved parent/teacher foundation assure that all South Pasadena children have the opportunity for a good education. The schools were the main reason my husband and I initially decided to sell our west side Los Angeles home and buy a house in South Pasadena. It's the reason many people are content to rent here even when they could buy elsewhere.

But many areas around the country are not nearly as fortunate. And with that in mind, I wanted to highlight a wonderful non profit organization I recently discovered...

Donor's Choose is a smart way to give needy students the materials public schools often cannot provide. Teachers from around the country submit project proposals, and concerned individuals -- like us -- can choose which projects to fund. Proposals range from requests for library books to overhead projectors, from computers to costumes for dramatic productions. You can search by areas of interest, or geographic location and then donate to the projects you find the most interesting. Recently, I helped a Las Vegas history teacher provide all of his students with an alternate history book to compare and contrast with the one provided by the state. I was particularly excited about this opportunity because the proposed book -- Howard Zinn's People's History of the United States -- was one that changed my life and enabled me, as a young person, to develop my critical thinking. The idea of giving others that same experience was thrilling.

Don't feel like you have to be Bill Gates to participate ... you can donate as much -- or as little -- as you choose. (And in many instances, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will match your donation.) Please take a look and see if there might be a classroom project with your name on it. Or even better: Donor's Choose allows you to make contributions in someone else's honor. What better way to thank your old 6th grade teacher than by funding a project in her name?

Suffer the little children

I've gone back into my Summer files for this shot. It was taken last August at one of South Pasadena's concerts in Garfield Park. This is childhood. Or, at least, this is what childhood should be.

Along with all of you, I have watched the news in horror as the innocent civilians have have been killed in Gaza. What I find most unbearable are the reports of how many children have perished in a conflict that shows no sign of letting up -- those beautiful lives forever snuffed out, another generation shattered by violence. I am stunned with grief in what has become an all too familiar feeling: helplessness and resignation to the inevitability of more bloodshed, more suffering, and more sorrow caused by politics, borders, ethnic mistrust, religious zealotry and the killing machines of war. As a humanist, I sigh. As a mother, I weep.

We mothers of all political stripes want a better future for our kids. As we push those screaming newborns out of our own bodies and into the uncertain world, each one of us hopes for a brighter, more peaceful planet. Whether we pray to one of three interpretations of the god of Abraham, or to the son of that god; whether we meditate to the lessons of the Buddha or simply marvel at the wonders of the known natural world, we mothers have a spectacular connection to life. We share in its creation in a very personal way -- our bodies host it and create food for it, we spend years loving and scolding and rocking and snuggling it to maturity. We mothers are dedicating to nurturing lives. Perhaps that is why, for most of us, reckless killing is intolerable. The term "collateral damage" can never begin to adequately describe to a mother -- any mother -- the death of an innocent child.

With this in mind, I thought I would share a few links to charities whose work helps suffering children in areas of conflict all over the world. I feel fortunate to live in a community as beautiful, safe and happy as South Pasadena. Here are some organizations trying to make the whole planet into a more kid-friendly place. As you look toward your 2009 budget for charitable donations, please consider these groups:

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
Coordinating response by national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies, the ICRC is an independent, neutral organization offering humanitarian protection, aid and assistance for victims of war and other armed violence. With headquarters in Geneva, the ICRC operates in 80 countries. As stated on the ICRC website, it has a "permanent mandate under international law to take impartial action for prisoners, the wounded and sick, and civilians affected by conflict." Click here for an up to date report of the ICRC's efforts to assist in Gaza as well as Southern Israel.

Seeds of Peace
Founded in 1993 by journalist John Wallach, this organization promotes personal relationships critical to peacemaking and conflict resolution. Beginning with a camp in Maine for teenagers and continuing through programs all over the world, Seeds educates young people to develop empathy, respect, confidence and the skills of negotiation -- allowing them to see the human face of their enemy. Focusing on Israeli, Palestinian and Egyptian teenagers, Seeds also includes young leaders from South Asia, Cyprus and the Balkans.

Room to Read
Founder John Wood left his cushy job at Microsoft after a trip to Nepal opened his eyes to the shocking lack of educational resources for the children there. Room to Read partners with local communities throughout the developing world to build libraries, create local language children's books, build schools and computer labs and provide education to girls in areas where schooling is rarely an option for them.

Kiva
Voted as a best website of 2008 by Time magazine, Kiva is worthy of the recognition. While it is not specifically aimed at helping children, I can think of no better way to assist poor families than to lend them the funds to start their own businesses. Kiva allows you to lend money to a specific small entrepreneur in the developing world to help lift that person out of poverty. They repay the money ... and you get to lend it to someone else. Sound like a pipe dream? Kiva has become one of the hippest names in microfinance. Check out what Forbes had to say.

I know we can't solve the problems of the world in a generation. But little by little, maybe we can make sure our children's generation has less work to do. Feel free to leave links to your favorite charities in the comments below.

Out of the Closet Thrift Store

How's this for a groovy neon sign? Proudly self-described as “the world’s most fabulous thrift store,” Out of the Closet is one of Southern California’s treasures. Since 1990, what started as a single store (and a great idea) has grown into a chain with outlets all over Southern California, Northern California and most recently Florida. The organization is owned and operated by AIDS Healthcare Foundation -- the largest specialized provider of AIDS treatment and advocacy regardless of patient ability to pay. Sales from the stores raise funds for the medical and counseling services AHF provides. Four thrift store locations even offer confidential free HIV testing utilizing a state of the art rapid response test with results in 20 minutes, and counseling available in a private area of the store. Since the height of the AIDS crisis, Out of the Closet has been an excellent source of HIV support and information. The South Pasadena store is located on Fair Oaks, across from Vons.

Way back in the early 90s I found all kinds of fantastic clothes at the store in West Hollywood. (I still love my 1950s black satin full-length gloves and matching clutch.) I discovered a 1930s pink art deco lusterware teapot, sugar bowl and creamer there… for $18! You just never know what you'll find at one of these stores. Each one still manages to deliver amazing finds when – after decades of Boho chic and the resulting raid on all things vintage -- most other thrift stores are well picked over. Shop there. Donate there. I think the world needs more of this kind of big-hearted and innovative thinking.